This Shabbat we study the Parshah Nitzavim, meaning “Standing” (Deuteronomy 29:9) and Vayelech, meaning “And [Moses] went” (Deuteronomy 31:1) The Parshah of Nitzavim includes some of the most fundamental principles of the Jewish faith: the unity of Israel, the future redemption, the practicality of Torah and freedom of choice. The Parshah of Vayelech recounts the events of Moses’ last day of earthly life. “I am one hundred and twenty years old today,” he says to the people, “and I can no longer go forth and come in.” He transfers the leadership to Joshua, and writes (or concludes writing) the Torah in a scroll which he entrusts to the Levites for safekeeping in the Ark of the Covenant. Vayelech concludes with the prediction that the people of Israel will turn away from their covenant with G-d, causing Him to hide His face from them, but also with the promise that the words of the Torah “shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants.”

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Chabad.org

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Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of the universe, the day G-d created Adam and Eve - and it’s celebrated as the Jewish New Year. This year, it begins at sundown on the eve of Tishrei 1 (Oct 2, 2024) and ends after nightfall on Tishrei 2 (October 4, 2024). Many of us, G-d willing, will be attending shul and observing the holiday with family and friends. Some will be celebrating at the MADA Community Center. If, for some reason, you will be spending it at home by yourself, here’s how to make it wonderful!

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Buy some traditional foods. Rosh Hashanah meals are replete with symbolic and sweet delicacies, including: raisin-studded round challah loaves and apples (both dipped in honey) – and carrot tzimmes. On the second night, we make sure to have a “new” fruit, which we have not yet eaten this season, right after Kiddush.

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Hear the Shofar. The shofar is typically sounded as part of the daytime Rosh Hashanah service. You can request a house call from your closest Chabad rabbi if you live within walking distance of him. In urban areas where there is a significant Jewish population, rabbis and volunteers will be blowing shofar on pre-designated wide-open spots for the benefit of anyone who needs. Check with your rabbi to see if there will be a shofar-blowing near you.

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Have a Machzor (Rosh Hashanah prayer-book) handy, and simply follow the instructions, omitting the parts that cannot be done alone, principally the Barechu call to prayer, Kaddish, the Repetition of the Amidah, and the Torah reading service.  Also, in Chassidic tradition, every unoccupied minute of Rosh Hashanah is to be used for reading Psalms (Tehillim).  With extra down time at home, you can make this the year that you say more Psalms than ever before!

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Make pre-holiday calls. Or send holiday emails. It’s customary to extend wishes for a shanah tovah (a good year) to friends, relatives and acquaintances. 

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Print out essential information before the holiday begins. There is a wealth of information in the special Rosh Hashanah section on Chabad.org

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There are times when G-d shows Himself in all that happens to you. Then there are times when G-d hides Himself within all that happens to you. But He is always there. It is only that there are times you stand in His light, and other times when you stand in His shadow. And times when you have no light, no shadow. Not any name. Not anything we could describe or know. Just “I.”…and I, I will hide My face on that day… (Deut. 31:18). As in, “I am here within you as you find your own way through all this.” So that you will find your own “I.” And your “I” will find His “I.” And neither will ever again hide from the other.

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Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

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R. Israel Baal Shem Tov explains the double expression of haster astir to mean that the Divine concealment itself will be concealed. That is, people will not even realize that there is a concealment of the Divine Presence. This relates especially to the final period of the galut when spiritual darkness is overpowering. But even then we must remember that nothing can separate G-d from Israel. Whether we realize it or not, G-dliness is forever within us. The very same “Anochi” [I am G-d, your G-d...]” of the Ten Commandments of the Divine revelation at Sinai, is the “Anochi” of “I shall surely hide...” This fact makes it possible for us to rediscover Him, and to see His full revelation again with the ultimate redemption of Moshiach.

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Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet

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Nitzavim doesn’t only mean “standing.” That would be the Hebrew word omdim. The word nitzavim means “standing firmly.” And the Rebbe’s message is that only by standing firmly by our principles and convictions can we, in fact, move forward in life and live to express the vayelech “upwardly mobile” theme. We need principles that are real and uncompromising.

There are so many stories that I’m sure so many of our readers can share when they experienced this message personally. Let me share two, both on a similar theme.

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Back in the early 1970’s, I spent several years studying in Montreal at the Rabbinical College of Canada. I also received my semichah (rabbinical ordination) there. One of the prominent families in the Montreal Jewish community back then were the Richlers. And I remember clearly the true story of their family business and the challenges they faced, specifically regarding Shabbat observance. The Richler Brothers ran a very big business in the motor industry, selling and servicing trucks, if I’m not mistaken. The family was Shabbat-observant. Their business, as big as it was, was closed on Shabbat and Yom Tov. Once, they were given a very lucrative contract with the Ford Motor Company of Canada. But when Ford discovered that Richlers didn’t operate on Shabbat, they canceled the contract, arguing that it could never work.

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However, sometime later, Ford approached the Richlers again, and this time they offered to abide by their religious requirements. Apparently, the other company they had engaged didn’t quite meet their professional expectations, and they came back to the Richlers “cap in hand.” Ford and Richler went on to have a very successful relationship for many years.

In my own community in Johannesburg, South Africa, a similar story played out back in the 1970’s and 80’s, albeit on a smaller level.

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The Arenstein Brothers, Monty and Itz, had started a motor dealership. It was a retail business selling automobiles. Monty was Shabbat-observant and insisted that the business would be too. Now, anyone who is familiar with the motor trade knows that most car sales are made on weekends when people have time to go shopping and test drive cars to their satisfaction. How would a motor dealership ever succeed if it was closed on Shabbat? But Monty insisted. The brothers even borrowed the title of an old movie, and their slogan, bumper stickers and all, was “Never on Shabbos.”

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I distinctly remember a particular Tishrei, a month replete with Jewish holidays, which decreased the number of days they were open for business to a fraction of a regular month’s work. The other partners argued that it would be impossible to sell even a minimum of vehicles that month. How would they survive financially? Well, what should I tell you? Not only did they survive, but they thrived. And after some years they sold the business for a very good price. Like the Richlers in Montreal, the Arensteins in Johannesburg stuck by their convictions.

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May we all have the courage of our convictions and see the blessings materialize in our lives.

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From an article by Rabbi Yossy Goldman

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